Seven Port Coquitlam employees accused of copper pipe thefts fired

PORT COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) -The City of Port Coquitlam has fired seven workers after finding out they may have stolen and resold copper pipes over the past decade.

In what the city describes as a “highly coordinated” theft scheme, the workers allegedly sold the new and recycled piping for an estimated $75,000, but city officials said the original cost of the materials was much higher.

The investigation began in February, after the city received a tip through its whistle blower policy, according to chief administrative officer John Leeburn.

“I know some of these people personally, I don’t know them all, but they’re good folks. How good people can make such terrible decisions, over and over again, is something I don’t understand and may never understand,” Leeburn said.

The employees had worked for the city between one and half years to 21 years. They each received cash amounts ranging from less than $100 to $10,000, according to the city.

Once the investigation is done, Leeburn says the city will turn everything over to the RCMP.

“The RCMP can determine what, if anything, they want to do with it,” he said.

Coquitlam RCMP confirmed they have not yet received any complaints relating to thefts from the City of Port Coquitlam,

The revelations come two months after another former employee was sentenced for stealing $175,000 from the city over three years.

Leeburn says the city is trying to come up with more ways to prevent things like this from happening in the future. The whistle blower policy was introduced in November.

“I think one of the contributing factors to this case was the whistle blower policy that we put in place that provided safety and security for somebody to come forward with information,” he said. “We need to turn our minds fully to what can we learn about controls and levels of supervision and tighten those things up.”

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